1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention is related to electrically actuated lock mechanisms and, in particular, to an electrically actuated lock mechanism for the rear deck lid of an automotive vehicle.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Lock mechanisms for the rear deck lid of automotive vehicles are well known in the art. In general, most of the rear deck lid locking mechanisms are purely mechanical and incorporate a latch member entrapping a mating member, such as a lock bar. The locking mechanism may be attached to the rear deck lid and the mating lock bar attached to a structural element of the vehicle below the lower extremity of the rear deck lid opening, or the locking mechanism may be attached to a structural member of the vehicle and the lock bar attached to the rear deck lid. Normally, the mechanical locking mechanisms are locked by slamming the rear deck lid closed causing the lock bar to engage the latch member displacing it to a locked position in which the lock bar is entrapped by the latch member. The latch member is mechanically released from its locked position by the rotary motion of a key actuated lock.
In recent years, rear deck lid lock mechanisms have been developed which permit the lock mechanism to be electrically unlatched from inside the vehicle's passenger compartment, as well as externally unlatched by means of the key lock. Typical electrically released rear deck lid lock mechanisms have been disclosed in Quantz, U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,330, and Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,511. Additionally, power locking mechanisms have been incorporated into the rear deck locking mechanism to displace the latch member to its locked position. Peters, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,580,623 and 3,596,484, discloses a hydraulic mechanism for displacing the latch member to the locked position when the rear deck lid is closed. Alternatively, Bellot et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,064, discloses a rear deck having an electric motor connected to a lock member and a latch member by a pair of lost motion links. De Claire et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,713, discloses an electrically driven latch closure having a motor driven rack engaging a toothed sector of the latch member to rotate the latch member between its open and latched position. Oishei, U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,447, and Lentz et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,016,968, disclose a pneumatically operated latch closure mechanism. Garvey et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,896,990, discloses a rear deck lid closure mechanism having an electrically driven jack screw for lowering the rear deck lid to its closed position after the latch mechanism has engaged the lock bar.
The invention is an improved rear deck lid lock mechanism which may be unlocked with a conventional key lock or by an electrical actuator remotely actuated from inside the vehicle's passenger compartment and may be latched by forceably slamming the rear deck lid to its closed position causing the latch member to move to its locked position or by lowering the deck lid with a force only sufficient for the lock bar to displace the latch member towards its locked position. The latch member thereafter will be electrically returned to its locked position.